This month’s newsletter from Yasodhara Ashram contains updates from the Ashram, information on the Radha community and upcoming courses. If you didn’t see it in your mail box this month, and want to stay connected then subscribe now! If you are already subscribed, you can skip over this post and stay tuned for next month’s newsletter.

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Namaste!

As I write this, the view from the window of Krishna Kutir is telling me that spring is well underway at the Ashram. Green leaves are erupting from the buds on the raspberry canes and the sun is glinting off our newly-rebuilt hoop houses as insects buzz and karma yogis put the garden to bed for the day.

Now is a time of change and transition from the relative tranquility of the Yoga Development Course into the busier retreat season. Those YDC alumni who have chosen to stay on are integrating into the community as new karma yogis, and our newly minted Hatha teachers are now teaching the morning classes. It’s wonderful to have such a large, wise, and willing group participating in the life of the Ashram!

Timeless Books has successfully relocated to the Ashram, and is moving towards a simplified digital distribution system (stay tuned to Lightwaves for continuing news of what’s happening in this area). ascent has published their final issue on Union, and held their closing party on April 9 to celebrate a long life as a vehicle for the inspiration of the teachings. And the icing on the cake – ascent has been nominated posthumously for the 2009 Utne Independent Press Award in the category of spiritual coverage!

Trine Mikkelsen is taking over the management of the former ascent offices and rad’a studio – she is working towards creating a kind of office co-op upstairs, to open up the space to other community oganizations while maintaining a focus on working together in a yogic way. The studio downstairs will continue to offer a space for classes and events, and Trine expects there will be more Radha classes being offered in the coming year as more Ashram-trained teachers return to Montreal.

Back here at the Ashram, things are moving and changing as well, as new people flow into the various areas of work. Lightwaves will be passed on to a new editor when I leave at the end of May, and our departing chef Aaron leaves an exciting job opportunity for a professional chef in the Ashram kitchen. Another wonderful job opportunity has opened up in Ottawa for a new Outreach Coordinator for the Radha Yoga Youth Outreach (RYYO) program, as departing co-ordinators Michael McCarthy and Palma Borzellino each take their next steps. For more info, contact Jessica Earle-Meadows at: yogaforyouth@ca.inter.net Paris Marshall Smith is arriving in early May to manage our organic gardens, and long-time friend of Radha Lynn Fairey is moving back to the Ashram in June.

Tim Tewsley, who has been helping with the green renovations at Radha Yoga and Eatery in Vancouver, was just here for the weekend along with a classmate from theNational Sustainable Building Advisor Program to work on the concept & design of the cabins at Yasodhara Heights. They met with Ashram residents and local builders and did a walk-around to review and generate ideas and get a sense of what kinds of possibilities are present in the site. Their work will be wrapping up with a class presentation on May 15, which they will then pass along to us – giving us a valuable starting point to begin moving the project into its next phase. Marlene Roza also paid us a visit in April to continue with her work on the administrative and legal aspects of Yasodhara Heights.

And in line with our commitment to become sustainable in all possible ways, the Ashram has committed to a no garbage Tapas, from April 27 though may 31. The idea came about as part of our movement towards becoming carbon neutral by our 50th anniversary in 2013 (We received a mention for this in the David Suzuki Foundation’s spring newsletter (PDF)!) and in the spirit of tapas, we are being challenged to open our minds wide on the subject of waste. Stay tuned to Lightwaves for more details on the tapas.

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